Date

Repository

Conditions Governing Access note

Preferred Citation Note

[Identification of item], The Belle Brezing Photographic Collection, 2003AV1, Special Collections, University of Kentucky.

Extent

1 cu. ft. (2 boxes): 277 items

Biography/History

Belle Brezing (aka: Belle Breezing, Belle Breazing)

Mary Belle Cox was born on June 16, 1860, in Lexington, Kentucky. She was the second illegitimate daughter of Sarah Ann Cox, dressmaker and occasional prostitute. A year later, Sarah Ann Cox married George Brezing, local saloon owner, and Mary Belle and her sister Hester's last name were changed to Brezing. The Brezing marriage was frequently abusive, with drunken rages and infidelity eventually leading to their divorce in 1866. George Brezing left Lexington a year later. After a short affair with a man named William McMeekin, Sarah Ann changed her and the children's names to McMeekin and began to refer to her self as a widow.

In 1872, a year after her sister Hester had married and moved out of the family home, Brezing was seduced by a 36-year-old man named Dionesio Mucci. Twelve-years-old was the age of consent at the time in Kentucky, and there were no legal ramifications for Mucci. The relationship lasted at least until 1874, when Brezing was given a scrapbook by Mucci for Valentine's Day. By age 15, Brezing was pregnant, and having sexual relations with at least three men: Dionesio Mucci, James Kenney, and John Andrew Cook. Brezing married Kenney, September 14, 1875. So notorious was Brezing's reputation at the time, the Lexington Daily Press ran a mocking wedding announcement. Just nine days later, Cook was found dead outside Brezing's back gate, shot in the head with Sarah Ann's derringer, and with love notes from Brezing and a photograph of her in his pockets. Shortly after Cook's death, a memorial poem written by Brezing appeared in the Lexington Daily Press.

James Kenney left town a few days later; there is no record of she and Kenney ever getting divorced, but there is no evidence they ever contacted each other again. Brezing's only child, Daisy May Kenney was born March 14, 1876. Two months later, Brezing's mother died, and she and Daisy May were evicted. Daisy May was placed with a neighbor, Mrs. Barnett. At some point during the next two years, Brezing became a prostitute.

On December 24, 1879, Brezing began to work for Jennie Hill, a madam who ran a brothel out of the Mary Todd Lincoln house at 578 West Main St. Brezing worked there for two years until she had saved enough money to start her own house and assume the position of madam. During this time, Daisy May continued to live with Mrs. Barnett, with Brezing supplying a stipend for her support.

Brezing opened her first brothel in a row house at what is now 314-318 North Upper St. Around this time, Brezing was indicted on the charge of "keeping a bawdy house." Kentucky Governor Luke P. Blackburn (1879-1883) pardoned Brezing and the indictment was dismissed. This was the closest Brezing ever got to serving jail time. Brezing miscarried a child during her first year at the house. It was also discovered that Daisy May was developmentally challenged and would have to be institutionalized for the remainder of her life. Daisy May Kenney entered a Catholic run institution under the name Daisy Barnett.

Brezing opened her second brothel in 1883. She purchased a free-standing house at 194 North Upper St., not too far from the row house. In the late 1880s, mounting public pressure began closing the brothels along North Upper St. With a loan from William M. Singerly, Brezing bought what would become her most famous brothel.

Brezing opened her third brothel at 59 Megowan St. (currently the southern corner of Wilson St. and Eastern Ave.). It was lavishly appointed and decorated in almost a parody of the cluttered Victorian style. The area around the house was referred to as "the hill," and Brezing wasn't the only brothel in the area, but certainly the most expensive and popular. Brezing attracted clientele from all over the nation who visited Lexington for its horse breeding and racing industries. During this time, William "Billy" Mabon entered Brezing's life. He became her male companion until his death in 1917. He worked for the Water Company in Lexington, and was the brother-in-law to Colonel Richard C. Morgan.

In 1895, 59 Megowan's attic space caught fire, and Brezing took the opportunity to expand the house to three stories and added a side entrance. The house was painted white to cover the fact that different colors of brick were used in construction. It was also around this time that Brezing became addicted to morphine.

During the Spanish-American War in 1898, soldiers billeted in Lexington visited Brezing's house and spread her reputation even further around the country. She eventually even appeared as the character Belle Watling in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind. Margaret Mitchell's husband, John, attended Transylvania University and worked as a writer for the Lexington Leader. Although it was always denied, once even in writing, research after Mitchell's death proves that the stories she heard from John about Brezing were the models for Watling. Anne Edwards' 1983 work, The Road to Tara, discusses the link between Watling and Brezing. (1)

During World War I, U.S. Army again billeted and trained soldiers in the Lexington area. But this time, the temperance movement was in full swing and public opinion was focused on "vice." Under orders from the Army, the brothels on "the hill" were closed in 1915. In 1918, they slowly began to reopen, but Brezing never did. Classified an "incurable" and receiving morphine under a doctor's prescription, Brezing lived quietly in 59 Megowan St. She died August 11, 1940 of advanced uterine cancer, at the age of 80. Her fame was still wide-spread; her obituary appeared in Time magazine. Belle Brezing is buried in Lexington's Calvary Cemetery, beside her mother.

After Brezing's death, an estate auction was arranged for the benefit of Daisy May. Huge crowds attended the sale and it required three days to auction the contents of 59 Megowan St. (now 153 North Eastern Ave.) The house was sold some months later. In 1973, a fire gutted the third floor of the building. It was decided to demolish the house rather than rebuild. Another auction was held, to sell architectural details. Even the bricks were sold as souvenirs.

Note: The correct spelling of Belle's last name is "Brezing." During her lifetime, "Breezing" became an accepted spelling, and Belle used it herself from time to time. "Breazing" also slipped into usage. Some bank accounts also had her legal name as "Mrs. James C. Kenney," which was occasionally spelled "Kinney." When Brezing traveled, she often registered at hotels under the Kenney name. Her name and date of birth are both incorrect on her gravestone.

Note: The information for this biographical sketch was derived from E. I. "Buddy" Thompson's Madam Belle Brezing, the only full length work on Brezing.

1. Edwards, Anne. The Road to Tara: The Life of Margaret Mitchell. New Haven, CT: Ticknor & Fields, 1983.

Elmer Ira "Buddy" Thompson

"Buddy" Thompson was born in Maysville, Kentucky in 1920 and moved to Lexington as a child. Thompson was an aerial photographer during World War II, and recounts his experiences in his book, A Soldier Boy's Adventure. Thompson and Jim Riley opened the auctioneering company, Thompson & Riley. Through the auction house, Thompson became interested in local history, and formed his own publishing company, Buggy Whip Press, to print his work. Thompson produced work on the Mulligan Family of Lexington, and Pony Lady, a look at the life of Olivia Israel. Madam Belle Brezing, Thompson's most famous work, was published in 1983. He was a founding member of the Lexington-Fayette Historic Commission, the president of the Civil War Round Table, and a member of both the Kentucky Historical Society and The Filson Club. He was also very active in the community, serving as president for Big Brothers of Lexington, the Civitan Club, and the Sertoma Club. He died in 1996.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of two hundred and seventy-seven photographic prints collected or created by E. I. "Buddy" Thompson in connection with the writing of his 1983 book, Madam Belle Brezing. One hundred and fifty items were in the personal collection of Belle Brezing. They include albumen, tintypes, and chloride or bromide DOP/POP prints, all popular studio processes of the time. Nineteen black and white silver prints cover Brezing's estate auction in 1940. Sixty-one black and white and color snapshots document the 1974 architectural details auction that preceded the demolition of the house after a fire. The remaining forty-seven photographs consists of copy prints and original photographic materials collected and generated by E. I. "Buddy" Thompson for inclusion in Madam Belle Brezing.

Collection Inventory

Belle Brezing Personal Collection

Scope and Content Note:

The series consists of one hundred and fifty items from the personal collection of Belle Brezing. They include albumen, tintypes, and chloride/bromide DOP/POP prints, popular studio processes of the time.

59 Megowan St., Belle Brezing's third and most famous bordello, 1889-1917; Brezing occupied the house until her death in 1940, exterior, pre-1895

59 Megowan St., Belle Brezing's third and most famous bordello, 1889-1917; Brezing occupied the house until her death in 1940, exterior; the third floor was added after the 1895 fire and the entire house was painted white to hide the different colors of brick, post-1895

59 Megowan St., Belle Brezing's third and most famous bordello, 1889-1917; Brezing occupied the house until her death in 1940, interior; Brezing's private parlor, 1895

59 Megowan St., Belle Brezing's third and most famous bordello, 1889-1917; Brezing occupied the house until her death in 1940, interior; Brezing's private parlor; the seated man is Billy Mabon, Brezing's lover until his death in 1917, 1895

Sarah McMeekin, detail of engraving: "Blessed are the pure in heart.", [n.d.]

Headstone of John Andrew Cook, a boyfriend of Brezing when they were teenagers and who died under mysterious circumstances; "Farewell John Andrew, son of P & Barbra Cook Born in Nashville, Tenn. Aug. 24, 1859; Died Sept. 22, 1875 Aged 15 Yrs. and 1 Mo.", [n.d.]